The word "ghost" fascinates me. Nearly synonymous with “spirit”, the two words cover a lot of ground, including breath, alcohol, ghosts, and one third of the Holy Trinity. In German, the concept of “ghost” covers even more: their words Geist and Spiritus correspond to our “ghost” and “spirit”. In addition, their adjective geistig appears in the expression geistiges Eigentum, which, literally translated, could mean “ghostly” or “spiritual” property. Instead it corresponds to our expression "intellectual property" (in the legal sense), or more loosely, properties of the mind. That brings me to the question of whether we know of any ghostly intellectuals around here?

"Mr. Holzer saw life on the other side in sharp detail. As he described it to the Web site ghostvillage.com in 2005, it is strangely like this side, and bureaucratic to boot. The dead who become restless and wish to return to Earth for another go-round must fall in line and register with a clerk."

Say it isn't so. You have to stand in line for your own reincarnation?